Hollowed Pasts and Weeping Willows
by FishE1
Summary: The Links, accompanied by their new friend Lavender, test their wits and skills against Shadow Link. But when things take a terrible turn for the worse, the team starts to fall apart. Who will emerge victorious in this showdown of up and down, light and dark? And what will happen to Lavender? Warning: Character Deaths. Once again, written by cyang227, NOT ME!


_"Shadow Link!" Blue yelled, thrusting his index finger at the phantom. "We aren't losing to you!"  
The shadow merely laughed, hovering in the air just above the 4 heroes of the Four Sword. Plus Lavender, whom the Links had saved from a pack of Wolfos just the day before.  
Per Blue's request, the five had gone to the abandoned and hollowed Hyrule Castle to confront the terrible Shadow Hero. They had all agreed that Shadow Link was a massive threat to Hyrule; they couldn't let him go on any longer. And all of them were ready to give up anything to protect the innocent.  
"Blue's right!" Green shouted, stepping beside his on and off friend and partner.  
"We'll stop you! Now, we're joined under the forces of light! And we'll work together!" Shadow smirked and descended on the five, arms crossed and amused.  
"Yes, that might be so, but you'll need more than teamwork to end me." The battle had started then, swords clashing.  
Shadow had made a makeshift sword of darkness, and he was fending off the heroes easily.  
Lavender swung her sword at the phantom just to be thrown into the wall for the 5th time. Blue and Red rushed to help her up, and Green went toe to toe with the dark Link.  
Lavender gritted her teeth and picked up her sword. At this rate, they were done for! But the Maidens were watching over them- they couldn't be done! The Four Sword heroes were in Hyrule's destiny! They couldn't lose!  
Her thoughts were soon doubted and pushed away when a swirl of crackling purple and red lightning emerged from Shadow Link's sword. With a mighty swing, the accursed blade slashed at Green and he got pushed to a crumbling stone wall, falling limply to the ground.  
The four remaining fighters gasped.  
"GREEN!" They yelled in unison, stumbling over each other to get to their fallen friend.  
Vio was first to reach the green clad hero, propping him up against the wall and shaking him in panic.  
Lavender had never seen Vio like this; he wasn't the cool, calm, collected Link she had once known now.  
"Green, Green, wake up. Wake up." He whispered urgently. Lavender and Blue crowded over him, and Red held Green's hand.  
3 seconds ticked by, and Red's face went a ghostly white.  
"Red!" Blue gasped. "Don't tell me..."  
The once cheerful Red stood up, crestfallen. The three on the ground looked up, seeing his eyes were hidden from sight.  
A tear slowly fell down and landed on Green's hat. "He's gone, you guys..."  
There was a dead silence. Even Shadow Link seemed to respect the silence and made no move to finish the remaining heroes off. He stood there, fiddling with his sword.  
"If I'd known this would happen, I would've been nicer to him..." Blue said sorrowfully. He pulled his hat from his head and clutched it before putting it back on his blond hair.  
"And I wouldn't have suggested coming here in the first place..." Lavender stood tall, a new determination blazing in her eyes.  
"No. It's nobody's fault but his." She said firmly. Everybody knew who 'he' was. "Now we have to keep going. For Zelda. For Hyrule. And most of all..."  
She pulled her sword and held it high in the air. What remaining sunlight- and hope- glinted off the metal. The other Links pulled their swords as well and held them up with Lavender's.  
"For Green." Blue whispered softly. He felt the most guilty for his counterpart's death.  
But that guilt was soon to be lifted. As the sword wielders turned to face Shadow, the dark Link had sighed.  
"Why must you sympathize over that weakling? I just did you a favor by getting him off your backs." Red, Vio, and Lavender glared at the monster, but Blue charged ahead recklessly; being the bull headed and aggressive part of Link he was.  
But Red thought he saw the faintest of a glint trailing behind him. Tears. Anger.  
"Blue, no!" Red yelled and lunged forward, swinging his own sword.  
"Shadow, lets end this!" He yelled, jumping up and bringing the mighty Four Sword down on the phantom's head.  
A clang was heard, and Blue stared wide eyed as his sword clashed with Shadow's- he was effortlessly holding Blue's weight in the air!  
"Blue!" Red shouted. He swiped his sword at Shadow's undefended feet, hoping he would trip and release the blue clad hero.  
But to no avail. Shadow Link hovered in the air, well above Red's reach. Even with the sword extension, the Red Link couldn't reach his friend.  
"Pest." Shadow Link swung his sword upwards, and Blue crashed with the ceiling. Vio, Red, and Lavender stared at the ceiling mindlessly as Blue fell.  
Lavender was first to come back to reality. "BLUE!" She charged at him, only to screech to a stop when stone trembled and shook, and fell on the Blue Link.  
Lavender watched hopelessly as rocks crumbled... and the last tint of blue, the last trace of her dear friend, was obscured from her sight.  
When the rocks stopped falling, Vio and Red rushed over. They all strained through the rubble- every time they thought they were getting somewhere, more dust and stone would just fall, and Vio was first to draw back in exhaustion.  
"It's... hopeless..." He trailed off as Lavender pulled back, sweat dripping off her face.  
"NO! IT'S NOT HOPELESS!" Red screamed and turned on his friends. Tears were freely falling off his face, blending with the sweat from his effort to save his friend.  
"GUYS, HOW COULD YOU JUST DITCH HIM LIKE THAT?! WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU?! WHY CAN'T YOU BE A GOOD FRIEND?!" Vio and Lavender were struck speechless.  
A single thought drifted through Lavender's mind, and she had no trouble agreeing.  
_'We're breaking apart...'_  
Vio was first to regain his voice.  
"We tried, Red. Blue's dead. Just accept it." He croaked. Lavender was angry at herself.  
_'Why aren't I crying? Aren't I sad?'_ She stared at her hands as if they were transparent. _'What's wrong with me...?'_  
"AND YOU!" Red jabbed a finger at Lavender, and she jerked away.  
"YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO HIM! WHY DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST TRY TO SAVE HIM?!" Vio put a protective arm in front of the girl in yellow.  
"Red, calm down." He said fiercely to his counterpart. "If Lavender had tried, she would be dead by now. Try to focus on defeating Shadow. Then we can get vengeance."  
"Oh, I seriously doubt you can beat me." Shadow stood behind them. He waved his hand as if batting away a fly.  
"Wasn't he always fighting with you? Didn't he always hurt you?" Then, he smirked. "Can't you just accept I did a good thing?"  
It was a blur. Blue's life dismissed in those words. They were downright cold.  
But Lavender was leaning to the point where she was agreeing with him. All these events were turning her into a monster.  
_'NO!'_ She hissed to herself. _'Blue was a hero! And nobody deserves a grisly fate like that!'_  
Pools of water were gathering at Red's feet by now. He glared at Shadow. Any traces of a nice attitude were gone, and Red's eyes showed devastation and fury.  
"YOU MONSTER!" He yelled. He charged at the phantom like Blue once had, but slivers of 'No mercy' and 'Kill' were visible in his step.  
Vio and Lavender could only watch. They knew it wouldn't do any good if they tried to stop the red clad hero.  
But they didn't expect Red to be so angry that it would turn into carelessness.  
He swung his sword at Shadow, but he side stepped and Red hit the ground.  
"I thought you would be better than that." Shadow teased, hovering in the air.  
Red swiped at the air under Shadow's feet in blind fury.  
"GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Shadow Link smirked.  
"I'd rather not." A ball of magic gathered at his right hand, hidden behind his back.  
Vio gasped and launched himself full force at the phantom.  
"NO! DON'T KILL-" But it was too late. Vio landed on the ground with a thud, and watched in horror as a ball of dark magic flung itself at the outraged Red Link.  
"RED!" Lavender tried to run over, but a giant explosion sounded as she neared Vio.  
Vio pulled out his shield and the two of them ducked behind it.  
It seemed like hours of wondering if Red was okay before the explosion stopped. Vio lowered the trusty Hylian shield carefully, surveying the area.  
Lavender was less intricate. She jumped up the second she deemed that the explosion had diminished. Lavender ran over to where Red had stood, briefly spotting Shadow Link hovering in the air, grinning wildly.  
There was a gaping hole in the proud stone of Hyrule Castle, and Lavender practically launched herself through it.  
"Red? RED!" She finally spotted the hero, and she dreaded every second that passed.  
_'What if he's not alright? What if-'_ Her thoughts stopped short as she neared the fallen Link, and she saw smoke rising from his back.  
"Red. Red." She said calmly, shaking her friend.  
It scared her how in this situation, she could be so calm. Act so normal. It freaked her out, but she stayed still.  
_'He's not coming back. Green, Blue, Red... They're all not coming back. Vio and I... we're the only ones left. And we're Hyrule's only hope.'_  
She only noticed Vio behind her when he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
"Lavender, are you okay?" She slowly rose to her feet, knees buckling._

_"Yeah. I-I think." She stuttered.  
Lavender kept staring at Red, unsure of what to do.  
A beam of purple and red swirls interrupted her thoughts.  
"Look out!" Vio pulled her away just in time to see the dark magic emitted from Shadow Link's outstretched palm blasted what remained of Red to pieces.  
"RED!" The pair both yelled, and watched as Red's sword- the once mighty Four Sword that had aided him many a times- clanked to a stop at their feet.  
"Well, three down, one to go." Shadow said, smirking in cockiness.  
"Don't get cocky, Shadow." Lavender warned, pulling her sword from her back and pushing Vio aside.  
She glared at the phantom. "You should go back to kindergarten. You've still got me to worry about." Positioning her sword in a 'Ready' pose, Lavender felt a pang of uncertainty.  
_'What if I lose? What if... I die?'_ Her thoughts were soon swept away when an angered Shadow Link created another ball of magic.  
"Fine! Soon you'll be with the rest of your petty friends in the heavens!" He snarled, before launching the orb of destruction.  
Lavender leaped of the way just as an explosion occurred on the face of the dirt road. Sand billowed from the ground, and Lavender covered her eyes and coughed.  
She could vaguely hear Vio shouting at her frantically in the background, but he was probably just worried.  
That's what she thought before a beam of black darkness ripped through the sand and grit.  
What happened next, Lavender wasn't quite sure what she thought about it.  
But she knew that Vio had jumped in front of her- Vio had given his life to protect her- and the beam of energy had blasted full force into its new target, knocking Vio to the ground.  
It took her a second to comprehend what had just happened, and another second to realize that Vio had been shot right before her eyes.  
She dropped her treasured sword, forgetting it as if it were trash.  
"VIO!" She yelled, running towards her friend. He didn't seem hurt- the magic didn't leave any injuries. But Lavender shook him relentlessly anyway.  
"Vio, open your eyes. Talk to me. Get up. Do something!" She half shouted, half whispered to him. Her voice had an urgency that comforted her in a strange way. It assured her that she was human. That she had a heart. That she cared.  
But life didn't seem as valuable, as much as a gift now. The Links were her true friends. But now they were gone, and she didn't want to bear the burden that she was sure was almost visible on her shoulders.  
A single teardrop fell and landed on Vio's right hand.  
He twitched and opened an eye.  
"Lavender...?" Vio asked weakly. Lavender abruptly stopped shaking him and stared at the violet clad hero, eyes wide in surprise.  
Then, she grinned, and pulled him into a hug.  
"VIO! YOU'RE NOT DEAD!" Shadow watched from a distance away, half in disgust and disdain, the usual. But the other half was sympathy for the girl.  
_'Vio's not going to live long... And he knows that...'_ He thought. But he quickly shook them away with a quick shake of the head, and continued to glare at the duo.  
"Ow... Lavender... Calm down..." Vio chuckled a bit, and Lavender quickly pulled back and wiped the tears of her face before running over to pick up sword and running back.  
"I can take 'im." She said. Vio thought he saw a slight happiness in her eyes at the mention of battling with Shadow Link. "We'll all be okay. You just hang on. When this is done, you'll get better. Maybe we'll find Blue in all that rubble. And if we're lucky, Red and Green-"  
Vio cut her off by pushing himself up with his left hand and clutching his stomach with the other.  
Lavender stopped talking and tried to push him down again. "Stop, Vio! You need to conserve your energy." Shadow Link was getting annoyed. He was wondering when Vio would be one less thing to worry about.  
Vio allowed himself to be pushed down and smiled sadly at Lavender.  
"I'm not sure that any one of us is getting out of this. Not even you." Lavender recoiled the slightest bit and flinched.  
Vio looked into her green eyes and feared what he saw. The hope that had been brimming in them before was diminishing. Dying until it became nothing. Someone had blown out the candles.  
That someone, he knew, was him. He grimaced at this thought.  
"Promise me you'll get out of this alive." He said softly. "Promise me you'll save Zelda, save Hyrule... and that you'll protect them." Lavender avoided his gaze, but muttered a halfhearted, "Alright."  
But she jolted and looked at Vio.  
"Wait, you're saying all this because you think you're going to die?" She pulled him into another hug, feeling her eyes well up again. Vio sighed, feeling himself slipping.  
"Yeah, well..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "You know...? I think... I think I love you, Lavender..."  
It was a few seconds before Lavender stopped short. To her, everything froze.  
Vio slipped from her hands.  
Vio was dead. She was alone._

Now Lavender stood at four identical gravestones, shivering at the memory. A rather large package rested at her right ankle, and her sword was on the damp grass at her left.  
Five years had passed since that terrifying day. She'd gone loose in blind fury, and when she understood what was going on, she was in a hospital. She'd learned that Shadow Link was gone.  
And none of the Links had survived.  
Before she'd done anything else, Lavender had forced herself to go back for each of the heroes, and make graves for each of them, despite the fact that Red's body was long gone.  
Her gaze had lingered on Vio the longest, vaguely remembering what he'd said.  
Could he really have loved her?  
She'd never find out, anyway.  
And since that day, Lavender had defeated Vaati by destroying the Dark Mirror, which she had stumbled upon after finding Zelda in the Tower of Winds.  
Somehow, Lavender had gotten the noble princess to trust her, and Zelda used her powers to seal Ganon, King of Darkness, in a place where he wouldn't be able to hurt anybody else again.

But that didn't change the devastation both of them displayed when Lavender told Princess Zelda that the Links- Link- was dead.  
Lavender had put herself back together carefully, trying to avoid anybody but the Princess. She was then known as a hero through all of Hyrule and beyond, but it never mattered to her.  
She was the Protector of Hyrule, but somehow she always slipped away and came to the grave site.

Like today, for instance.  
Lavender stood there for a moment, just mindlessly staring at the graves. She'd been like that ever since Hyrule had come back to its former peace.  
To her fans, Lavender was the caring hero who would take a stand for all that was right and just, the girl that could take the place of a princess in a little girl's dream land. She was the perfect role model for everybody, the kind of person you'd want to be when you grow up.  
But Lavender was your ordinary girl. Just with a lot more distress.  
Lavender blinked and sighed before sitting cross legged on the ground. She fingered the knot on the bag at her side for a moment before untying it quickly and skillfully.  
Being a master at swords did have its advantages, she thought. It was the one positive thought that had popped into her head that day. The new Lavender was prone to being a bit secluded compared to what she should have been. Zelda was her only true friend, so what would you expect out of a lone hero?

Lavender stood up again, pulling something out of the bag. After five long years, she finally had the courage to bring her most treasured items to the grave site.  
A long, slender item glinted in what light peaked from what dense evergreens and pines towered above the Protector of Hyrule.  
It was the Four Sword.  
Lavender stared at it, eying the small green dot at the handle of the sword. She smiled a bit, remembering the times that Green had tried to duel or spar with Blue out of anger and stupidity, over ridiculous things like 'Whoever wins gets to be the main Link!' , or 'I'm the main Link, so I should be the leader!'.  
She placed the sword on Green's grave, and pulled out Blue's sword, and all the memories that flooded back with just the sight of it. The blue orb sparkled at the end of it, shining as stupendously as Blue once had. All that confidence and arrogance did stir up some trouble, though, she reminisced.  
Placing the sword on Blue's grave, Lavender hesitantly pulled out Red's sword. She still held a burden over what he said. She really could have saved Blue, if she set her mind to it.  
A thing the fans believed that was actually true; Lavender could accomplish amazing feats if she just set her mind to them. Even if some took longer than others.  
She quickly set it down on Red's grave, somewhat relieved that she didn't have to hold it anymore. It was almost as if Red's burning cheerfulness had died right there.  
And finally, Vio's sword got shaken out of the now empty bag, which Lavender threw aside.  
That was fairly strange- Since that near death experience, Lavender had turned a new leaf. She was always precise and calculating, always on guard. Never being careless for a moment. Always knowing everybody more than they knew themselves.  
Another reason she didn't have many friends.  
Lavender ran her fingers along the sword's blade, where a shine of light from above reflected on the metal. Just the thought of holding the very sword Vio had used many times before threw her off. She drew a blank.  
It was the topic that normal friends could use to tease her about, maybe they could all laugh it off. But Lavender wouldn't ever be normal. Not to mention when she was alone or with Zelda, she was dangerous when she got annoyed.  
She made a few swings with the sword, pondering what seemed to crowd her mind and thoughts so very often.  
_'Did Vio love me?'_  
She finally dropped her sword arm to her side and sighed. So many things were different. So many answers she could never explain. But she dropped to her knees and carefully placed the sword on the dirt. It did little to make the sword's heroic shine fade, however.  
"You know?" Lavender said to herself, choosing her words carefully. "I guess I love you too, Vio." She got up and stood there in silence for a while, absentmindedly recalling all the fun times they'd had.  
Which wasn't a lot to work with, though. She'd only known the Links- Link- for so long.  
"I knew I'd find you here." Lavender whipped around, frantic thoughts trailing her head.  
She sighed in relief, seeing the form of Princess Zelda instead of some criminal or evil being.  
"Prin- Err, Zelda, you almost gave me a heart attack. What are you doing out here? You could get injured or kidnapped!" Lavender said. Zelda had always insisted on her using the name 'Zelda' instead of 'Princess', and she was picky about it.  
"Well, I did what every friend should do." Zelda said defensively, before walking over to the site. She eyed the swords.  
"I think the swords will rust out here. Maybe you should take them back." Lavender shook her head, a small smile making its way to her face.  
"No, it's fine." She turned, and reminded her, "We should probably get back to the castle. You know how Link's father gets when you run off." Zelda followed, and the duo made their way out. Lavender slowed her walk, and Zelda passed her.  
Lavender looked at the graves one last time, noting how gallant and majestic the Four Sword looked.  
Somehow, she didn't think the Four Sword would ever rust. It and Link would always hold a special place in her heart.

THE END.


End file.
